Animal Christmas Recipes

What could be merrier than cute Christmas critters for you holiday fiestas?  Our theme for the holidays is cherry, merry, and delicious animal treats.  All are so easy the kids can help as well.  Try one or try them all but be warned, these goodies are so cute, your guests may not want to eat them!

Cream Cheese Penguins

Ingredients

·         Jumbo black olives, pitted

·         1 package cream cheese, softened

·         Small black olives

·         1 carrot

·         Toothpicks

·         Pimentos (optional)

Directions

1.    Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive.  Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive and pat down.

2.    Slice the carrot into 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet.  Save the cut out piece and press into center of small olive to form the beak.  If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.

3.    Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.

4.    Add pimento scarf around neck of the penguin (optional).

Christmas Mice

Ingredients

·         Double-stuffed Oreo cookies

·         1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

·         2 teaspoons vegetable oil

·         Red maraschino cherries with stems, well drained

·         Milk chocolate kisses

·         Sliced almonds

·         1 small tube green decorative icing gel

·         1 small tube red decorative icing gel

Directions

1. Carefully twist cookies apart; set aside the halves with cream filling.  Store and use the plain halves another time.
2. Unwrap chocolate kisses and have them ready to use.
3. On stovetop, melt chocolate chips and oil on very low heat; stir until smooth. Holding each cherry by the stem, dip in melted chocolate, then press onto the bottom of a chocolate kiss. Place on the cream filling of cookie, with cherry stem extending beyond cookie edge.
4. For ears, place slivered almonds between the cherry and kiss. Refrigerate until set.
5. With green gel, pipe holly leaves on the cream. With red gel, pipe holly berries between leaves and pipe eyes on each chocolate kiss. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Reindeer Cupcakes

Ingredients:

·         Twisted Pretzels

·         Cupcake Mix

·         Vanilla Wafers

·         Chocolate Frosting

·         Red Candy (M & M’s or Red Hots work well)

·         Candy Eyes

·         Cupcake liners

Directions:

1.    Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.  Make cupcake mix according to the box directions. Let cool.

2.    Frost cupcakes with brown frosting. Add vanilla wafer to one side of each cupcake.

3.    Add pretzels as antlers and candy eyes.  Add Red nose to wafer with a bit of frosting to make it stick.